‘Arrow’ Season 5 Villain Inspired by ‘The Wire’s’ Stringer Bell

The Arrow hints and teases continue to flood in, courtesy of TV Line. We’ve already been made aware the show’s fifth season would introduce a character named James, an “irresistibly charming,” yet threatening adversary for Oliver Queen. It was also recently revealed that Team Arrow would no longer be the only vigilantes dishing out street justice, as the show is casting a new non-villainous lawbreaker.

Now there’s even more insight being revealed in the form of a another new character, this time a villain “tentatively” named Anton Church — a ruthless crime lord. The villain will be “loosely inspired by” Idris Elba’s role on The Wire, where he played kingpin Stringer Bell. According to TV Line: “The initial casting notice describes him as an ‘apex predator’ who ‘cuts his way through the shadows’ by taking down ‘the biggest threat first.'” That threat most likely being Green Arrow, and maybe Mayor Oliver Queen.

Interestingly, the character breakdown on the casting notice also states Jason Momoa is a “physical prototype.” Whether that is a reference to Momoa’s build, or his overall look is anyone’s guess. Though it wouldn’t be surprising if it was referring to his physique; the aforementioned James character’s breakdown also mentioned he should possess a physically threatening stature.